The present invention relates to an optical disk device which replays a title recorded upon an optical disk such as a DVD or the like.
Recently, optical disk devices which read and replay data for titles recorded upon optical disks such as DVDs or the like have become generally widespread. A typical such optical disk device is endowed with a function of outputting a title menu image in which, for each title recorded upon that optical disk which is loaded, the title name and the recording date and time and so on are displayed as a list, and of allowing the user to select a title to be replayed. This title menu image is displayed upon a display device which is connected to the optical disk device. The user checks the title names, recording dates and times and so on in this title menu image, and selects a title to be replayed. To put it in another manner, the title menu image is utilized by the user for checking the titles which are recorded upon that DVD which is loaded, and for assisting him in input actuation to select a title to be replayed.
Furthermore, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2002-238025 for example, a device is proposed in which, by displaying an image which indicates, for each title which is recorded upon a recording medium such as a DVD or the like, the recording time for this title, and also the remaining recordable time period upon this recording medium, thereby the user is enabled simply and easily to confirm the recording time for each of the titles which are recorded upon this recording medium, and the remaining recording time thereupon.
However, with such a prior art type optical disk device, it has not been possible for the user to check, upon the title menu image: whether or not a title is one which has not yet been replayed (viewed); if it is a title which has been replayed, whether or not it has been nearly completely replayed; or conversely, if it is a title of which only a portion has been replayed, whether or not it is a title of which the portion which has not been replayed (the not-completely-replay portion) is comparatively large. Due to this, the user must himself decide, from his own recollections of the title names etc., whether each of the titles is one which has already been replayed or not and so on, and sometimes he may erroneously decide that a title which has actually not yet been replayed has already been replayed, or, conversely, that a title which has actually already been replayed has not yet been replayed. Furthermore, in order for the user to make the decision described above for a title of which his memory is unclear as to whether or not it has already been replayed, he is sometimes finally obliged to replay that title, in order to check its contents. Thus, with a prior art type optical disk device, the presentation of information via the title menu image has not been performed adequately. Due to this, there has been the problem that the selection of a title to be replayed has been troublesome, so that the ease of use has not been good.
The object of the present invention is to provide an optical disk device which is capable of sufficiently assisting actuation by the user to select a title to be replayed upon the title menu image, and thereby to provide an optical disk device whose ease of use is enhanced.